Article for improving correspondence letter writing skills

ABSTRACT

Letter writing skills are improved through use of an associative letter writing template comprising stationery having distinct regions separable by perforations. One distinct region has an outline of a letter while another distinct region has a plurality of thematic markings. The thematic markings may include words grouped by sub-topic and/or illustrations relating to a common theme.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/237,688,filed May 4, 1994, now abandoned.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to methods and articles to improveindividual writing skills. More particularly, the present inventionrelates to methods and letter writing templates which help teach andimprove letter writing skills.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The ability and skill required to write a well organized and topicalletter is often taken for granted by those who have mastered the writtenlanguage. However, when analyzing the steps involved in writing even ashort letter, it becomes apparent that it requires the application of awide variety of writing and language skills. Thus, although individualsmay have grasped the more basic concepts of the written language, suchas simple grammar and sentence structure, this alone is not enough toenable them to write a well organized and topical letter. This isparticularly true with novice writers, such as young children.

In order to draft a well written letter an individual must draw uponmuch more than basic grammar skills. In order to convey to another one'sthoughts in a written letter it is necessary to have the vocabulary todescribe the activities and events that one wishes to write about. It istherefore plain to see how a limited vocabulary can restrict the topicsdiscussed in a letter. Moreover, spelling of these same terms maylikewise pose a problem for many writers.

In addition, some individuals often find it difficult to think ofsuitable topics to write about. Often the anxiety associated with theiruncertainty over what to write about can cause them to become distractedor uninterested in writing. Similarly, many writers struggle withlimited attention spans or an inability to focus on a single task. As aresult their letters are often disorganized and tend to lack aconsistent theme.

In addition to coping with limited language skills or attention spans,many writers also experience problems with physically writing a letter.Often individuals may find it difficult to write legibly or to do so ina straight line and a consistent size.

It is well known today that there exists a wide variety of stationery onwhich to write letters. It is possible to find stationery nowadays inmany different colors, patterns and sizes. However, the existingstationery fails to deal with the problems experienced by many writerswho have difficulty in writing a topical and well organized letter. Theexisting stationery fails to help the letter writer possessing a limitedvocabulary, experiencing spelling difficulties or struggling over whatto write about. Furthermore, the stationery available today furtherfails to keep a writer's attention or help them write a topical and wellorganized letter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide articles and methodswhich enable novice writers and other individuals to develop and improvetheir letter writing skills.

It is another object of the present invention to provide articles andmethods which provide a variety of topics for a writer to choose fromand write about. It is a further object of the invention to providearticles and methods which provide both a vocabulary and spelling listfor the writer to draw upon in aid of their letter writing. It is yetanother object of the present invention to provide articles and methodswhich act to enhance the writer's ability to write a legible letter, andimprove their attention span as well as their ability to retaincommunication skills. It is a further object to provide articles andmethods which facilitate the writing of topical and well organizedletters.

These and other objects are achieved in accordance with the presentinvention by an associative letter writing template, comprisingstationery having perforations therein forming first and second distinctregions separable along said perforations; wherein said first region hasan outline of a letter thereon and said second region has a plurality ofthematic markings thereon. These thematic markings may comprise wordsrelating to a common theme and be arranged according to sub-topics.

The thematic markings may further comprise illustrations relating tothis same theme. The thematic markings may alternatively comprisepictures related to a common theme. In addition, the first region mayalso further include illustrations relating to said common theme.

The present invention may also be practiced through a method of aidingletter writing which comprises the steps of: selecting a theme and wordsassociated with said theme; providing an outline of a letter; providinga writing medium having first and second distinct sections; arrangingthe words upon the first distinct section preferably by sub-topic;arranging the outline upon the second distinct section; instructing anindividual to refer to said thematic markings in writing a letter uponthe outline; and separating said first region from said second region,whereby a more thematic and improved letter is obtained from saidindividual. This method may further comprise the additional steps ofevaluating the content of the letter written by the individual,instructing on how to improve the written letter and delivering thewritten letter to an addressee.

The method may also comprise the step of providing illustrationsrelating to said theme on at least one of said first and second distinctsections.

In another aspect, the present invention contemplates a method of aidingletter writing comprising the steps of: selecting a theme; selecting anddisplaying thematic markings associated with said theme; displaying anoutline of a letter; instructing an individual to refer to the displayedmarkings in preparing a letter on the displayed outline; and separatinga letter prepared on the displayed outline from the displayed markings.

The present invention may also be practiced through a method of aiding aletter writer which comprises the steps of: selecting a theme and thenselecting words and a picture associated with said theme, arranging anddisplaying the words so that they create a visual impression of thechosen picture, displaying an outline of a letter and instructing anindividual to refer to the displayed visual impression in preparing aletter on the displayed outline.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a letter-writing template according to thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

The present invention contemplates a letter-writing template, whichgenerally comprises writing paper which has a series of perforationssuch that the perforations form distinct regions within the paper. Atleast one of the distinct regions has a collection of words or othermarkings relating to a chosen theme and another distinct region whichcontains a skeletal outline of a letter. These distinct regions arelocated on the letter-writing template such that they may be separatedalong the perforations.

An exemplary letter-writing template 10 is illustrated in FIG. 1.Template 10 is intended to enable an individual to write a letter and assuch may comprise any commonly used writing medium. Preferably, and asis most common with letter stationery, the template 10 may be made outof an appropriate grade of paper. The template 10 should be sized so asto be capable of containing a letter, a collection of associative wordsor other thematic markings and optionally related illustrations.However, the specific size, color, shape and other characteristics ofthe template 10 may take on any of innumerable forms limited only by theparameters set forth below.

Within the letter writing template 10 there exist at least one series ofperforations 12. It is preferred that the perforations run uninterruptedfrom one edge of the template 10 to a second non-adjacent edge and thatthe perforations run substantially in a straight line parallel to anouter edge of the template 10. This particular configuration can be seenin FIG. 1. The nature of the perforations utilized and necessary toenable manual separation of the distinct regions from one another iswell known in the art and will depend on a variety of characteristicssuch as the type of paper utilized, the size of the perforations, thesize and grade of the materials used, the dexterity of the individualsintended to use the template and other factors.

The perforations divide the template 10 into two distinct regions,namely the associative region 14 and letter region 16. The term`distinct regions` as used herein means regions that do not haveoverlapping territory and whose only common edge is along theperforations within the template. It is similarly preferred that theperforations 12 be placed within template 10 such that, upon separatingthe distinct regions, the letter region 16 takes on a shape and sizesuited to be easily folded to fit in a standard envelope. Thus, it ispreferred that upon separating the letter region 16 from other distinctregions that the letter region 16 has a substantially rectangular shapeof size 6×9 in.

Still referring to FIG. 1 it can be seen that the perforations 12 dividethe template 10 into at least 2 distinct regions, thereby forming anassociative region 14 and the letter region 16. Template 10 is designedto encompass an overall theme and provide mental prompts or triggers,and spelling assistance for the letter writer. This is accomplished inpart by the association region 14 with its collection of thematicmarkings. Although this region acts to aid the writer in the developmentof the letter it is not intended to remain attached to the letter region16 or be sent to the addressee. Therefore, the associative region 14 mayencompass any one of innumerable shapes although it is likewisepreferred to have a rectangular shape and be sized to hold selectedassociative words 18 or other thematic markings and also facilitateready separation of this region from the letter region 16.

The associative section 14 contains a listing of thematic markings, suchas words 18, drawings, pictures, or other representations relating tothe chosen theme of the template, e.g. winter. It is preferred that whenthe thematic markings comprise mainly words 18 that they be broken upinto sub-topics and displayed on the associative region 14 in groups. Ascan be seen in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the words 18 arevertically arranged with the words of each sub-topic 20 further groupedin blocks. However, the selected words 18 may be listed or arranged inany logical or straightforward manner such as alphabetical, topical,random or arranged so as to create a distinct visual impression relatedto the chosen theme such as an outline of a skater. Although thespecific arrangement of the same will depend in part upon the shape andsize of the associative region 14 it will also depend on the number ofsub-topics and words desired to be inserted therein. In addition to orinstead of the listing of the topical words it is possible to displayother thematic markings such as symbols, illustrations, drawings,photographs or graphical representations of activities, articles andevents associated with the chosen theme.

Adjacent the associative region 14 is the letter region 16. This regionmay likewise contain thematic markings, e.g. a series of peripheralillustrations 22 associated with the chosen theme of the template 10.Illustrations 22 may be of a humorous nature to help attract and retainthe writer's interest. In addition to the illustrations 22, a skeletaloutline 24 of a letter is provided thereon. This skeletal outline 24 maymerely comprise the lines on which to write the letter. However, it ispreferred that the skeletal outline 24 be printed such that the linesindicate the desired location and size of not only the body of theletter but the heading and closing as well. Furthermore, it is similarlypreferred that the outline further include additional prompts toindicate to the writer where the date, addressee's name, signature andthe like should be inserted within the letter. Examples of such promptscan be seen in FIG. 1. Although it is not necessary that the skeletaloutline 24 take on the standard letter format it is preferred since thiswill help teach novice letter writers to use accepted letter writingformats. FIG. 1 is but one embodiment and will be evident to one skilledin the art that there exist numerous variations and arrangements of theoutline 24 and the illustration 22 within the letter region 15.

The lines making up the skeletal outline 24 preferably have standardmargins in order to help the writer produce a neat organized letter.However, both young and old writers often have difficulty writing withinsmall margins and therefore these margins may also be expanded to helpthose struggling with their dexterity. In addition, the margins mayfurther be marked to indicate the mid-point of spaces between lines tohelp young writers with differentiating between capital and small caseletters.

The associative letter template can be advantageously employed in amethod of aiding and improving letter writing. The first step of themethod is to provide an associative letter template as described above.This may be accomplished by first selecting a general theme and acollection of words which relate to the theme. It is preferred that thetheme and words selected cover topics, activities and events appropriatefor discussion in a letter and which are commonly experienced by theindividuals intended to use the template. The selection of such themeswill help the individual writer more easily think of specific events ortopics that they are familiar with and wish to write about. There existmany different available themes and an even larger combination ofthematic markings, such as words, to accompany a given theme.

The selected collection of words may also be broken up by sub-topic. Forexample, if the theme selected is winter, the collection of words may befurther segmented by topics such as foods, holiday, weather, winteractivities, etc. Once the collection of words has been determined, theymay then be arranged as desired and displayed on the associative section14 of the letter writing template 10.

As with selection of the associative words above, once a theme has beenchosen, other thematic markings may be provided, such as variousillustrations 22. These illustrations may include drawings, photographs,sketches or other visual representations of activities, articles andevents which likewise relate to the chosen theme. It is preferred thatthe illustrations have a somewhat humorous tone, especially when theassociative letter writing template is to be used by young children.Such lighthearted illustrations will help keep the young writer'sattention and also help them select a topic that they truly wish towrite about. These illustrations may take on a variety of colors, shapesand sizes although they should not be so large as to prevent theplacement of the skeletal outline on the letter region. In addition, itshould be noted that the illustrations may also be, or evenalternatively be, placed within the associative region.

The letter region will also contain the skeletal outline. Once thespecific format of the outline is chosen, it may likewise be displayedon the letter writing section along with the desired illustrations.However, the skeletal outline and the associative words should bedisplayed on distinct regions of the template.

Once the specific form of the letter writing template has been selectedand provided, it may then be made available to an individual who wishesto write a letter. When teaching individuals how to write a letter, thetemplate may likewise be given to the individuals who are theninstructed in letter writing techniques. After the letter is written,the instructor may review the letter and explain to the writer how towrite an improved letter by discussing its particular strengths andweaknesses. Thereafter, the associative regions may be separated fromthe letter region and the letter may be delivered to the addressee.

The present method of aiding letter writing may also be readilypracticed with the aid of a computer. A skeletal outline of a letter maybe provided upon a section of the screen along with the collection ofassociative words and illustrations. Upon printing, associative regionsare separated from the letter region and not actually printed.

The unique combination of the individual elements of the presentinvention provide for various methods and letter writing templates whichact to help an individual find topics to write about, provide potentialvocabulary and spelling references for the individual which broaden thescope of the topics available to the writer. The skeletal format helpsimprove the legibility of the letter and together all of the elementshelp the writer produce a more cogent, thematic and organized letter.The associative regions may be separated from the written letterallowing the writer to send the improved letter to the addressee withoutrevealing the associative aids.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specificembodiments it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and alterations may be made without departing from thespirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the claimsappended hereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. An associative correspondence letter writingtemplate, comprising:stationery with outer edges and having perforationstherein running uninterrupted from one edge of a second edge and thatthe perforations run substantially in a straight line parallel to atleast one outer edge of said stationary forming distinct first andsecond regions separable from one another along said perforations; saidfirst region having a plurality of parallel lines forming a skeletaloutline of a correspondence letter; a plurality of correlative graphicalillustrations relating to a selected theme positioned on said firstregion between said skeletal outline of said letter and the outer edgeof said first region; and a plurality of correlative words relating tosaid selected theme positioned on said second region.
 2. The template ofclaim 1 wherein said words are arranged according to sub-topics.